How can you be more intentional while travelling? How can you travel more consciously? We all want to travel more, but more travels do not necessarily mean more meaningful. If you want to travel on a superficial level and display an Instagramable journey, then by all means. If you yearn to attain a more idyllic travel memory, and deeper travel experience that leaves you nourished and replenished then read on for intentional travel tips.
What is intentional travels?
In simple, it is travelling with more purpose. For some it can mean shifting your mindset to view every action as a choice. For others it can mean travelling with a clear actionable goal in mind. For anyone seeking to travel more intentionally it means adding in another category of planning, a category that moves away from the traditional planning of where to stay, what your itinerary will look like etc.
Set Intentional Travel Goals
It is easy to get caught up in plans, and endless bucket lists when you think about your travel goals. But setting an intentional travel goal along with your other planning activities can provide you with a more meaningful and fulfilling travel experience. You can set your goal with the destination in mind or your travel goal can be inherently separate from the destination and be a more intrinsic travel goal. What ever you choose as your intentional travel goal does not matter. All that matters is setting a goal that is meaningful to you.
Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone
When we travel we leave behind all that we know and all that is familiar to us and we step into the zone of the unknown. For any traveller, stepping outside this comfort zone and into the unknown is often accompanied by discomfort and anxiety. Doing normal everyday activities is so familiar to us that it doesn’t create any apprehension, anxiety or induce any fears. When we stay in our comfort zone we minimise stress and anxiety. But what happens when we embark on these journeys that create and bring about anxiety and fear? What happens when we step out of our comfort zones?
“A ship is always safe at the shore-but that is not what it is built for.” – Albert Einstein
Growth Happens
We grow. Our minds evolve, our perspectives change, our relationships are transformed, but most importantly, when we step out of our comfort zones and enter into the realm of the unknown we realise how dependent we are on “Al Aleem- The all Knowing”. We realise how little we know and understand. When we travel, we get to see and marvel at the creation of Allah, from the diverse range of people we meet and from the landscapes, mountains and rivers we get to see, we realise the true Power of “Al Khaliq -The Creator”.
| “Coming out of your comfort zone is tough in the beginning, chaotic in the middle, and awesome in the end…because in the end, it shows you a whole new world.” -Manoj Arora |
What is a Vacation?
When we travel, we go on a “vacation”. Have you ever considered the meaning of the word vacation? I certainly had not until very recently. One of the meanings of the word is: “the action of leaving something one previously occupied.” The word vacation is derived from the latin word, “Vacationem” which means “leisure, freedom, exemption, a being free from duty, immunity earned by service”.
What are we Vacating From?
So when we are on a vacation what are we vacating from? We are vacating ourselves from our daily commitments and responsibilities. When we are free from our daily routines and we have vacated our lives, this new environment brings about the perfect setting for us to find ourselves – away from the noise and clutter of our over scheduled busy lives. Travelling can present an opportunity for us to reconnect with ourselves and learn about who we really are. When we go on a holiday, we can still find joy, pleasure, adventure and excitement while we find and rediscover ourselves.
| “ East, West, South or North makes little difference. No matter what your destination, just be sure to make every journey a journey within. If you travel within, you’ll travel the world and beyond.” Elif Shafak- The forty rules of love. |
How Travel can be Rewarding
When we travel we could do so unconsciously and reep none of the rewards or we can travel intentionally and benefit immensely.
How amazing is our Creator that we get to earn his pleasure and are rewarded while we leisurely enjoy a relaxing day at the beach in a 5 star resort in a far away place? All because when we looked at the beach we said “Subhanallah – look at how Allah created this beach.” How lucky we are as parents if we take our kids with us and we have this amazing opportunity to speak to them about Al Khaliq. How lucky we are if we are privileged to travel with our families and make the intention of maintaining and strengthening family ties while travelling together.
Travelling is not just a physical journey
When we travel it can serve as a spiritually uplifting journey. By being conscious and deliberate about setting our intentions appropriately. By aiming and intending to earn the pleasure of our creator through our explorations. There are a myriad of intentions that we can find and set once we think deeply about our reasons on why we intend on travelling. We can also make the intention of practising sunnahs that are exclusive to travelling. We can make thikr and salaah at various places and make dua that these places of worship will speak on our behalf and be a witness for us in the Hereafter. And most importantly we can fill our travels with loads of duas. Travelling consciously and intentionally gives us the opportunity for our travels to be an act of Ibadah for us.